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iESS, 



DELIVERED ON OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF THE 

N1VERSITV OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, 

IN BEHALF OF TEE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, 

NOVEMBER. 6 1848. 

BY HOU. JACOB THOMPSON, IS. C. 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS, 

DELIVERED ON OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF THE 

UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI 

NOVEMBER 6, 1848. 

! P 

BY GEORGE FREB'K HOLMES, A. M. 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY. 



later e„(qiuo memoria omnis alal, quaque ipsa intueatur mternitaa,) nil dignms ,gt, aut 
uuoi ii i>4«« !„,„,„,. n T w s ion-arum aus-mentis scicntiarum solnlis ct fructuosis. 

nobilins, quam . dolelur orbis Icrrarum augment^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^^ 



MEMPHIS: 

FRANKLIN BOOK AND JOE 0) 






!2>3S4f 



/ 



. ADDRESS OF THE ' HOI, JACOB THOMPSON, ' 

Tadies and Gentlemen: This day forms an era in the history of 
onr village and our community, it opens up new prospects to the 
St.te and gives a new direction to the feelings and calculations of 
«m n-ople We here begin a great work, hoping ere long to reap 
Set of rich fruit, which shall be manifested to us in an improv- 
ed Sate of society, in a diffusion of useful knowledge, in an elevat- 
ed and refined condition of public feeling, in an enlargement of 
moS menSS and religious cultivation. On behalf of the Trustees 
S this University, we thank you for the interest evinced by you in 
fono n^ us wTth your presence. As a Board of Trustees who have 
hXn Important and delicate trust confided to us by our cherished 
and beloved sovereign, the State of Mississippi, we have performed 
our duty to the besf of our ability. We have endeavored so to ex- 
pend the money which has been placed m our hands, and so to exei- 
cise the p6wer which has been devolved upon us as < to command 
mblic approbation and support. We have sought in no case to 
Lrve oSves or to show partiality and favoritism to our immediate 
WrTds and neighbors; but we have ever kept in mind that we are the 
agent o?"he whole people of the whole States and as far as in us 
lies we have acted in all things with impartiality and justice with J> 
deteriunation to erect a college worthy of the State, and to found an 
fiMi tution w ich should prove 8 the pride and Wwark of our iellow- 
dt'zens We have acted independently of party dictation or rehg- 
iousbias. We have overlooked altogether the divilions of our peo- 
X in o sects and societies and regarded them only as christians 
Q it alone the inculcation and establishment of those eternal 
fSihinh were taught by him "who spake as never man spake, 
n he name of he tmsteesf I come forward to dedicate our work to 
he cause of education" these splendid edifices have been erected on 
this Wtfd^SLwi for the accommodation of the students and 
the iS We think we may venture to hope, that every Mississip- 
% w Ifeel thrill of pride and of pleasure when he behodstiiem 
Knects that they, are the property of the people of the 8 late, 
we deem them worthy of our honored commonwealth, worthy of the 
great purpose for which they were intended, w%of &*f^™> 
who planned, and the workmen who executed them, and reflecting 
no discredit upon the taste of the trustees. f 

But the erection of these buildings was by far he easr est par t 
the task assigned us. To select a President and a faculty to till tin 
Afferent Ss who should meet public expectation, and enlist ; 
maintain the public confidence, was no holiday *™<^ ! 
tho resoonsibilitv. We extended our enquiries far and near, vye 
o ,8^=1 from the good, the learned ™f»<V%% «*£ $ 
portions of our extended country. We invited all of eveij, shade 



4 



opinion, moral, political and religious, to present their claims to pre- 
ferment to our Board. The candidates were numerous and worthy. 
Their testimonials of fitness were of the strongest character : and 
after a dilligent and impartial examination, our elections resulted m 
the selection of a President and faculty, who are now here m our 
midst, veady to enter upon the discharge of their respective duties. 
We applied to them no religious, no political tests; we chose them be- 
cause of their high repute for genius and learning, their known pri- 
vate personal worth and virtue; their energy and capacity to impart 
instruction. For them we bespeak an impartial trial. We are well 
pleased with our selections; they come among # us with the highest 
testimonials, and are worthy of your generous confidence. We 
know the difficulties they have to overcome in the outset oi this in- 
stitution jealousy will be excited in the minds of some, detraction 
and depreciation must be met and borne down by merit and correct 
bearing— misrepresentation and even slander will be started by those 
who would crush our infant institution. But their dependence as 
well as ours will be on the good sense and just judgement of an in- 
dependent and enlightened people. Error will prove harmless when 
a community are in search of truth, and I believe I may say without 
hesitancy, that while our people are remarkable for the boldness with 
which they investigate all subjects, particularly the merits of men; they 
are ever ready to abandon conclusions founded in error, but pertin- 
acious in adhearing to positions based upon justice and sound reason. 
Then on your behalf, my audience, I can safely say to the President 
and the Faculty, perforrnjour duty and fear not; a liberal and con- 
fiding public sentiment will sustain you. 

The students wJao have already arrived, give us earnest assurance 
that our young men are eager to avail themselves of the opportunities 
here offered for the acquisition of knowledge and that our people duly 
appreciate the value of a finished education acquired at home. We 
have obtained for the use of the college, from our honored and es- 
teemed professor, Dr. Millington, the loan of his splendid and exten- 
sive philosophical and chemical apparatus which, will place our in- 
stitution in this respect, on an equal footing with the oldest and best 
endowed colleges of the United States. We will soon collect from 
contribution sufficient to purchase an extensive library for the use of 
the students. 

All things are now ready, and in the name of the State of Missis- 
sippi, this da) r we dedicate these buildings and these beautiful groves 
to the cause of learning and science. How strange and how strik- 
ing is the contrast of the present with the past ! Twelve years ago, 
on the spot where stands this grand and tasteful temple, of the god- 
dess of wisdom, the rank grass waved in its luxuriance before the 
breeze unharmed, save by the tread of the wild beast and the foot- 
steps of the savage, in pursuit of his game. Unbroken stillness 
brooded over the hills and valleys. Here and there could be heard 
the scream of the panther and the more fearful yell of the^ed man. 
Here the man was distinguished from the beast, only by his capacity to 
circumvent ami destroy him. All alike, were content and happy 



when their thirst was slaked and. their appetite satisfied, Now as 
the star of empire is on its westward march, how changed ! Here 
we raise an alter to genius and learning, and on it we expect those 
to make sacrifices who feei and know the superiority of the mind 
over the body, who prefer intellect to brute foree, who appreciate 
the value of the immortal over the mortal man. To this altar we 
invite worshippers from all classes and conditions in society. Would 
to Heaven every youth in the land could command the time and the 
means to hang and hold on to its horns, until he could snatch there- 
from a live coal and bear it through the land to warm, elevate, refine 
and cheer the hearts and instruct the minds of our people; the one in 
pointing the way and making plain the paths which lead to the bliss- 
ful realm of immortality; another, in expounding the law and ad- 
ministering justice from the bench; another, in pleading the cause 
and defending the rights of the injured citizen at the bar; another, in 
examining the human system and extracting those essences from the 
vegetable and mineral kingdoms, which shall cool the burning fever 
and heal up .all manner of diseases; another, in engaging in the use- 
ful and honorable task of "rearing the tender thought and teaching 
the young idea how to shoot;" another, in the skilful cultivation of 
our generous soil, by which the largest yield of the useful plants is 
gathered in return for the smallest amount of labor; another, by the 
application of science to the mechanic arts, so as to make the very 
elements obedient to the behests of man, and thus contibute to the 
wealth and comfort of society. 

On this Hill, we sfrmd in the presence of the whole State, and we 
have the prayers and best wishes of the good, intelligent, patriotic 
and public spirited men of the country for our success.* They have 
long and ardently wished to see this day. The necessity and impor- 
tance of an education for our children and young men in a commu- 
nity in which they are expected to live, is no new idea. Our desti- 
>nof the means of offering them a finished Mississippi education, 
has long been felt and deeply deplored. And our liberal and enlight- 
ened' Legislature have but responded to the earnest wishes of the 
popular mind in founding this institution. Every day's experience 
and observation deepen and strengthen this feeling. The learned 
men of a country, must from the very law of our being, give tone 
and dinection to the public thought. Mind must control matter, and 
reason and knowledge will direct human action; and, until our young 
men are prepared for the different professions of life at home, we 
never can be individualized; we never can have that feeling of iden- 
tity which should characterise us as Mississippians. 

Moreover there is a growing disposition manifest to us all, in dif- 
ferent portions of the world and of the United States, to denounce 
and villify our institutions which have come down to us from a remote 
ancestry. On the maintenance of these institutions in its integrity and 
full enjoyment, our prosperity, safety and happiness depend. We can 
never look to expediency; necessity alone, is the ruling consideration, • 
and it is of the last importance to us, that the hearts of our young 
men should be kept in the right place, and it is verily a sin again' 



om children to send them ^^^^J^Z^tS, 
rounds our northern eo lieges , rest "'f^ s '"^ ^onelusions; at an age, 

ian. . „ . „ nm ^ P ,-« among' them, also gives 

Finding our young men m great ^«^™ f oil ^ delightful 
plausibility to the slanderer hat ^ ™ * byeathes the deadly 
climate may sustain a thriving P easa ^ f ' e d U cation and iutellectu- 
poison of the'Eupas tree upon Jj ^ « IUS sickens and 

Si advancement-tha^ours^. ^ ^e ^ for in what field 
where iancy dies. 1 ms we ^ncm of honor, where we haye 

have we entered as contestant m the ^o<*Loi ^ ^^ 

not borne away the prize of# wi<£ative halls, and before 
brethren at the bar, in the pulpit, m n e^ ^^dgment, accords 
popular asseinbl^and,he -^^f iXncet' superiority. We 
to us, at least ^au^, ^ 

^^^^^^^™ r a11 r nd - They 

CeToUowed, but they never have outstripj>ea our men 

No, my audience, 1 scorn to think of iiuei ^nty. . -™ J 1 w 

ate the charge- must bos^ &e ca^^di ic^ athome We 
must tram our young men for the cona^st and nsxi i 

3^^ «" ite - telli - 

sent and enterprising people. s*«+p in intel- 

One of the. -reat obstacles to our improvement as a b. ate in mte 

n omulu^s ot a supposed interest, to strike our tents and gang 
plompun ? - o. a ,-, ip new. fascinations 

Sa a^W^m^lS^ -11 become, the home of the 
WwhenbSXdren shall find a worthy alma mater m- our State. 
We hi become permanent and fixed in our purposes, and feel no 
lonoe i clined again to enter the wilderness, to drive back the wi d 
beasts and open the avenues of ingress to a more refined and highly 

CU S? of P u?th?nve in this immediate vicinity, may safely calcu- 
l.to on the most salutary influences from this Institution. It will 
neceZvt e"Z\Ld diffuse among us useful information and re- 
finement It will elevate the standard of morals and improve our 
5 It will bring among us gentlemen of the highest intelligence 
anTrespectability. But as it will fasten upon us the observa ion and 
criticism of the whole State, can 1 not promise on your -behalf n ad- 
vance, a cheerful co-operation in maintaining order and ^ ™f ^ 
success of the College. We must remember, that the University 



seeks the patronage, favor and support of the whole State, and 
whatever will conduce to its good and efficient management, to its 
popularity with the people at large, should be advocated and upheld 
by us. But I know you too well to doubt. The feeling of every 
bosom present is, may God speed the good work. 
• Young Gentlemen : I feel strongly tempted to turn to you and in- 
dulge in many thoughts which spring involuntarily to my mind, when 
I see you standing at the door and knocking for admittance, into the 
temple of science — where you «iow stand, many years since I stood 
and faithful memory supplies me with many pleasing recollections 
and incidents. But the time and the occasion is not lit that I should 
indulge my impulses. It has been a great while since I clambered 
the height of proud Olympus and sipped nectar in the court of the 
Gods where mighty Jove in awful majesty presided — or followed that 
blind old man for whose birth place seven cities contested, around 
the walls of Troy, sat in war council with Agamemnon, or learned 
from him the. story of the wrath of Achilles, or travelled with the 
virtuous iEneas in his wanderings to found an empire. I would 
willingly again visit Hellicon and Parnassus, the river Peneus and 
the bubbling lllissus — I would willingly listen to Tully's voice thunder 
anathemas against the traitor Catalinti, or hear the Grecian orator 
arouse his abused countrymen against the injustice and incursions of 
the usurping Macedonian; or witness the .developments of the re- 
venge of the thwarted love of Medea. Bat I have had my day; 
yours is before you. In the language of Horace, "carpe diem;' seize 
and improve the fleeting moments as they fly. 

The eyes of Mississippi are upon. you. From this day, you cease 
to be boys or to act from those motives which influence boys.. Your 
honor and your sense of right alone, become the means by which our 
requirements are enforced. If yon would carve out for yourselves in 
life an honorable and worthy name, you must begin now and lay 
deep your foundation. And, unless we have your active and effi- 
cient co-operation, all that the State, all that the Trustees have done, 
all that the Faculty can do, will be of no avail. Mississippi has 
claims upon you the moment you enter these halls, and she expects 
each one of you to do your duty. Your good conduct and your suc- 
cess in your studies will reflect honor on the Faculty and afford un- 
feigned satisfaction to the Trustees. *"Sana mens in sano corpore^ is 
a correct maxim for the student. Preserve your health, maintain 
your morals and improve your minds, and you will prepare yourselve. 
for usefulness and honor in life and become ornaments of your par 
ents and the treasures of society. May Providence tlnow his pro 
tecting mantle around you and preserve you for your country. 

Mr. President and respected Pro* , members of the Faculty :— 

In obedience to the power which has been vested in us by the State ■ 
Mississippi, we commit this Institution into your hands. We h;n 
selected you from a multitude of applicants from our belief in yoi 
capacity to instruct our young men in all the branches of learning; 
give them a finished and complete education. We begin under i 
vorable >ices. Tho public feeling is now strong in your faarc 



tat the pubHe expectation has beea ££*&£** «£ 
energy, and efficacy to _« «h- aswebel ^ 

dutS; you shall have our cordial and sincere support. 



OF PRESIDENT G. F. HOLMES, 

ON THE OPENING OF THE UNIVERSITY AT OXFORD, MISS. 
Gentlemen Trustees, oe the University oe Mississippi-Lad™ and 

f c E o™ s" stranger among you, and feel the usual difficulties of 
aiSur^to address an unfamiliar audience. I cannot 
noWe>S commence the few remarks lor which 1 crave an n^u gen 
Wino- n a manner more consonant, to my own feelings, and 1 
doun" no moi" in unison with the feelings of all of you, than by 
Serini'mTcongratulations on the auspicious ceremony which we 
aif now cm^regated to celebrate. But a few winters ; past, the spot 
: n which we are assembled, was the seat of _ the India, ^ wigwam 
now, it is sacred to the ministrations of learning. Id > the m ds. of 
the primeval forest, where, but lately, was the lair 01 the wild beasts, 
the Ss of the Architect* and the skill of the workmen have rear- 
ed fs it by enchantment, this noble fane in all the just proportions, 
the perfect symmetry, and the classic elegance of Athenian art The 
impress of the Indian mockinson has scarcely faded awaj n m .be- 
neath the shade of these patriarchal trees, and a readyby the , nei gv 
the enterprise and the high resolve of the people of M ssis.ippi, sci 
once has been domiciled in the haunts of the savage, ana a new sanc- 
tuary prepared in the wilderness for the habitation of the . mases. ^ It 
is with these reminiscences of the past, and these pledges of the : pre- 
sent flooding around us, that we have met this day for the purpose ol 

*CAr T .WM.NicHo LS .-Tho design, arrangement, and the execution of^UmWsjty 
buildings reflect the highest credit upon the genius, taste -and science °** h . e Al ° ^ 
They ale very extensive and happily combined, and mil be completed fox an ou lay of 
Smore than $50,000. The Lyceum or main building is one cf the most elegant s\w 

ire in the South 



inaugurating a new temple of learning. We have met to open to 
the youth of this and the surrounding States a new shrine of knowl- 
edge, at whose altars the sacred flame of moral and intellectual light 
may be kept henceforth, like the vasial fires of old, ever burning and 
ever pure. We have already consecrated the great work upon which 
we are about to enter, by invoking the blessing- and the protecting 
care of that Almighty God, who has placed a spirit in man; and 
whose inspiration has given them understanding, — and, under the 
guidance of His superintending hand, we now proceed to the perfor- ' 
mance of the due and orderly services of the place. 

This is no trival occasion, — it is one of no ordinary solemnity or 
importance. It can occur but once in the life time of a nation; for 
we now open the first seminary of the higher learning, which has 
been established under the auspicies of the State, and endowed by 
the liberality of the whole people. Other Colleges may, and, I hope, 
will arise in due order of time to minister to the new or more extend- 
ed wants of the citizens; but this is the first over which the State has 
thrown the mantle of her beneficient supremacy, and will, I trust, 
live through untold generations to witness the growth around her of 
a numerous brood of other and flourishing institutions. 

But it is the purpose which gives its peculiar solemnity to this occa- 
sion. A new torch of learning is this day erected in the land as " a 
light unto posterity," whose ever-shining rays may long continue to 
guide, improve, enlighten, ennoble and educate age after age, the 
young men of this teeming and beautiful land. 

It is, indeed, a day to be remembered in the annals of the State. 
'•The erection of a great College, dedicated to the study of the na- 
ture of all things, whereby God may have the more glory in the 
workmanship, and man the more fruit in the use of them," — this was 
more justly regarded by Lord Bacon " as the noblest foundation upon 
earth, and the lanthorn of that kingdom," whose magnificent, though 
unfinished proportions, attest the amplitude, profundity and sagacity 
of his mind, as fully as the Novum Organon itself. 

It is his declaration, too, that "there is not any more worthy act 
than the further endowment of the world with sound and fruitful 
knowledge !" But in the creation of a new University by the act of 
the people, and with the funds of the people, the State has exercised 
its liberality not only in fostering the study of the nature of all 
things, not merely in securing the further endowment of the world 
with knowledge — but, above all, in providing for the dissemination of 
the learning which may be in the world — in extending its treasures 
to all who may be willing to receive Ihem — and in assuring to ea.ch 
rising generation adequate and full instruction in that science which 
has been so highly estimated. 

This Institution, thus created by the munificence of the State, is a 
creation speedily evoked from the silent womb of things possible; 
but its works are as perennial as the benefits of knowledge. The 
lapse of years, which undermines and obliterates all things, will deal 
indulgently with this, and only add renovated vigor, and a more am- 
ple capacity for good, to the veneration which will gradually hover 

2 



10 

over it; nnless ruthless circumstances should mar the work which 
time would be reluctant to destroy. For this erection of a State 
University is a great deed, which needs to be but once performed — 
opus magnum seme I operandum—on& from which, when done, an un- 
failing stream of all that most ennobles and adorns a people; will 
continue to flow with increasing volume through countless genera- 
tions, enriching each, and aiding each in the great race of progres- 
sive development of the human family. Its creation has demanded 
no long time, and, when compared with its prospective results, no 
great expenditure of means, but its fruits endure forever, and will 
continue to be prodigal of blessings to the present and all coming 
time. 

That this is no vain boast — this promise of continued life and 
health — may be readily proved from the experience of the past. 
The Universities of Oxford, and Cambridge, and Paris, owe their 
birth to the night of the middle ages, and yet survive in increased 
energy and renown. The University of Rome, founded under the 
earlier successors of the Caesars escaped the perils of the Hun, the 
Goth, the Vandal and the Saracen — lived through the wars of the 
Lombards and the Fanks — was left erect after the dissentiohs of 
Guelph and Phibelline had passed laway — and remains the most 
splendid monument of the innate strength and persistancy of great 
Institutions of learning. But a nearer and more recent instance is 
at hand. With one of my colleagues, I have come from a vener- 
able College, to which the long protracted circle of a hundred and 
fifty years had only given higher honor and larger sphere of influ- 
ence. Her alumni had gone from her halls to the Bench and the 
Senate Chamber— from her, they had gone to the command of ar- 
mies, and to the Presidency of the Union— her graduates had con- 
trolled the fate of nations, and changed the destines of the world. 
Founded under the rule of a Kingly government, she had witnessed 
the growth and presided over the struggles, of the Colony in its 
youth— she had influenced and survived the storms of the Revolu- 
tion—and had blossomed at its close into full promise and' a higher 
existence. Her horizon was widening around her-^-and her glorious 
career was expanding before here, promising a yet nobler destiny in 
future, when the scacred ark of learning which had been wafted over 
jhe floods of time, was shipwrecked by the rude and unholy hand of 
misguided men. # 

The failure of the last Institution referred to, and the duration of 
all should guard us against the negligence and indiscretion of trust- 
ing to chance for that longevity which will only be the reward of con- 
stant care and unremitting exertion. This University may numder 
the years of its existence by centuries, but to ensure its permanency, 
we must at all itmes secure its success. A still more arduous task 
devolves upon its first Trustees-its first Faculty-and its first stu- 
dents. The Trustees and the Faculty must organiz its prosperity— 
the first students must zealously lend their co-operating aid, or every 
thing which has been done will be in vain. The TrSstees, though 
they can never be discharged from their duties, for they must ever 



11 

guard the work of their hands with a watchful eye have performed 
their exclusive work, and this day deliver the University, and much 
•of the responsibility which attends its management, to the care of 
the Faculty. It is to us, the Professors, whom they have selected as 
their agents, that the public will naturally look for the success of the 
Institution. We owe it to the untiring exertions and to the confi- 
dence of the Trustees — we owe it to the munificence of the people of 
this country, — we owe it to the good will, and hopes of the citizens — 
we owe it to the enlightened liberality and just expectations of the 
State — we owe it to the present times, and especially to future ages, 
which would otherwise be defrauded of their full heritage; to all of 
these we owe it, to remit no exertion which might tend to guarantee 
the most perfect success. The obligations of this first Faculty are 
great; our duties are weighty and difficult; but though arduous, they 
are noble; it will be for us, with the means that the State has placed 
in our hands, to erect an enduring College; which may become the 
pride of the State, and largely repay the generosity which has call- 
ed it into being. We are to lay the foundations on which our suc- 
cessors may find it an easy task to raise a vast superstructure; much 
of our work may be unseen; much may be unappreciated or un- 
known; but we, who preside at the organization, will either win for 
the University an enduring life, or bar for years to come, the gates of 
hope; and thus retard the successful accomplishment of the great pro- 
ject of University education within the limits of Mississippi. The 
full accomplishment of our aims will be glorious, equally to the State 
and to ourselves; the disgrace of failure, whether merited or not, will 
rest wholly with ourselves. 

It is with a due sense" of our difficulties and responsibilities, that we 
enter upon the great work confided to us. We enter upon it with 
the full conviction that much is justly expected at our hands; but we 
enter upon it with high hope and a firm determination to succeed. 
We all come here charged with the high ministry of education, and 
conscious of the sacred character of its functions. We come as la- 
borers in the great vineyard of knowledge, anxious to enlarge its 
domain and extend while we improve its culture. Misled by no pet- 
ty or selfish aims, but intent upon the glorious mission to which we 
are devoted, goaded on by no passion for paltry reputation, but stim- 
ulated by the sense of a lofty duty, we hope to build up a system of 
Collegiate education "for Mississippi, of which the State may have 
reason to be proud; and for which, in after ages, she may turn in 
grateful regard to the memory of its founders. 

These are my feelings, and these are the feelings of the whole fac- 
ulty — and they are feelings which will inspire us with renewed ener- 
gy in all the difficulties which we may have to encounter, and all the 
trials which it may be needful for us to surmount. 

There are peculiar difficulties incident to my own position — a 
greater weight of responsibility will rest upon me than upon the oth- 
er members of the Faculty — with, X fear, least ability to bear the bur- 
then. I am bound to be the first in zeal, energy and industry. This, 
I can promise; and if my pledge be faithfully kept, my owntieficien- 



s 



12 



cies in other respects may be compensated by the genius, talent and 
learning of my collaborators. 

But while so much is expected from us, and so much is due by us, 
all does not rest with-us. We require the full and liberal co-opera- 
tion of the State; and we need, and are entitled to the continued and 
generous encouragement of all classes of our fellow-citizens. We 
require the support and confidence of the people; but, we believe, 
that true patriotism and a well founded State pride, no less than high 
considerations of policy will induce the gentlemen of the South to 
prefer to trust the education of their sons to a Southern institution, 
to the hazardous, expensive and humiliating experiment of sending 
them abroad, to imbibe at the North delusive views which will infect 
their minds during their whole life. "We will still have to trust to the 
continued liberality of the State and the people of the State. We 
have no observatory, we have no library, and no building adequate 
to receive such a library as should belong to the University of a great 
and wealthy State; we have no chapel, and no hall for those public 
exhibitions in which those who have won honors and degrees give 
open assurance to the community of the advantages they have en- 
joyed, and of their profitable employment of those advantages. W e 
have indeed no Chemical and Philosophical apparatus; though, for 
the present, we are placed on the same footing with the oldest Col- 
leges by being favored with the use of Prof. Millington's extensive 
and complete collection. All these things we need— many bf them 
are absolutely indispensable. The want of a library is a want which 
should be speedily supplied— for to adopt an illustration from Lord 
Bacon, the University without a library is like Polyphemus without 
his eye. For'the gradual satisfaction of all these wants, we must 
look to the generosity of the State and the public spirit of the citizens 
of Mississippi. In the meantime, we gird ourselves for the work, in 
the lull confidence, that if we justify by our exertions and success 
the past expenditures of the State, the people will not suffer the 
creature of their will to remain in complete or inefficient, but will be 
stimulated by a noble enthusiasm to fulfill all the reasonable require- 
ments of the University. If we do faithfully our part, we believe 
that Mississippi will do hers with unstinted munificence. 

Such are the duties, the position, the feelings, and the views of 
those to whom you have confided the practical execution of your 
plans. Have I not said how deeply Ave feel the responsibilities? how 
sincerely we acknowledge the trust and confidence reposed in us? 
how anxious we are to justify the public expectation? 

But, gentlemen, beyond these acknowledgments and explanations 
the present inspiring occasion suggests an inquiry into the nature of 
that high ministry of instruction, which we are called upon to exer- 
cise here; for the full value of the gift which has been received from 
the Mate, cannot be duly appreciated, unless we apprehend rightly 
the true nature and functions of education, and especially of Colle- 
ct f^nr** 011, 7^ ^jects are so wide that we must necessa- 
S2 SOm t e definite hmits on our speculations, so varied that to 

HmeS Z WlH> 6Xpedient t0 Vi6W th6m With ref — 



13 

Of ]ate years the merits of the great question of education have 
been so fully discussed in public speech and written argument, that 
it might seem needless for me to dwell at any length upon it. But 
while orators and essayists have enlarged upon that general educa- 
tion, which it is so desirale to bring home to the fireside of every man 
in the country, their attention has been in a great measure, with- 
drawn from an equally just consideration of that higher order of 
education which is pursued in our Colleges and Universities. Yet, 
the one without the other is lame and defective — and is wholly inad- 
quate to produce that heritage of good which may be freety antici- 
pated from the adoption of- a sufficient scheme for the public diffu- 
sion of knowledge. In every country, but especially under a free 
republican government like our own, it is of vital importance to the 
tranquility, good order, and prosper^ of the body politic that the 
advantages of education should be as widely disseminated as the air 
and light of heaven. To accomplish this, Common Schools and 
Academies have been instituted 1 - throughout the length and breadth 
of the land, so as to place, within the reach of every man that rudi- 
mentary education which is the life of freedom, and the necessary 
preliminary to all higher knowledge. The laboring man, who is un.J 
able to save from the hard-earned gains of the year enough to board 
his son at a distance from home, or to pay for the expenses of his 
family's education — who cannot, perhaps, afford to dispense for any 
length of time with the services of his children, is thus enabled with 
little waste of time and without intolerable sacrifices, to give them 
that medicum of education which may render them competent to dis- 
charge their duties respectably, in the same condition of life as him- 
self — and which is the necessary vestibule to all higher progress in 
learning. That knowledge, which is absolutely indispensable to all, 
is thus brought home to all by the system of public schools; but, still, 
the benefit is only partial, for much remains to be done before even 
those for whose exclusive benefit Common Schools are established, 
derive the full profit of a system of public education at the expense 
of the State. If oiir views of the range of public instruction were 
arrested at this point, but little permanent good would be accomplish- 
ed by the intervention of the State. The air of heaven though free, 
can be kept pure only b}" the constant action of the solar heat — and 
the light of heaven which traverses the immensities of space, must 
be incessantly replenished from the exhaustless fountains of the solar 
fire. With no higher instruction furnished to the community, the 
grade of education which might be afforded by the Common Schools, 
and which, under healthy influences, might have been cap bio of in- 
definite expansion would become gradually lowered until little but 
the name of education waslofr. The diliusion of knowledge always 
tends to its decline, unless a sufficient stimulus from above bo applied 
to excite further progression. It is the constant attraction of the cen- 
tral and superior globe which keeps the inferior planet true to the 
path of its revolution. There \\ a no period of the Roman Empire, 
when knowledge was more widely diffused than during its decay — 
yet, notwithstanding the dessemination of learning, it dwindled 



14 

away, because there was no incentive to higher acquisitions. We 
cannot, therefore, with any safety, rest contented with having intro- 
duced a o-eneral scheme of Common School education, but are com- 
pelled, in order that that scheme itself may prove most fully effec- 
tive ', to provide for a higher order of instruction which may re-act up- 
on the lower, and tend to elevate its teachings, and enlarge its range. 
But again, in the economy of the world, and in the economy of 
States, large provisions has been made by the ordinances of Provi- 
dence, and by political organizations for the healthy manifestation 
of all grades of talent, diversities of character, varieties of adven- 
titious "circumstances — and inequalities of fortune which we find 
amongst men — and will continue to find as long as the round globe 
hangs together. These dissimilarities must not be disregarded in a 
general plan of education, if we intend it to be complete, or reap 
from it its full harvest of fruit. It is for the general interest of all, 
and of this, there is no doubt, to extend to all classes in the commu- 
nity the opportunity of acquiring the rudiments of knowledge, it is 
no less important for the same common interest to afford to those, who 
may have the time, the means, and the capacity for further instruc- 
tion, that higher education which is to be obtained only at Colleges 
and Universities. We are all interested in having the management 
of political affairs committed to the care of discreet, intelligent and 
wise legislators; it is of vital importance to all to' have the attendance 
of scientific physicians in sickness — and to have a body of thorough- 
ly instructed lawyers to guard their social rights, and save them from 
pecuniary loss. None can underate the benefit to the community of 
an enlightened and intelligent judiciary; or of a sagacious, because 
highly informed ministry to guide our footsteps in the paths of relig- 
ion. The increase too, of national wealth which springs from the 
skilful application of science to the arts, enures to the benefit of all, 
and is experienced in the multiplication and extension of the means 
and comforts of all. Thus that collegiate education which forms the 
principal avenue to excellence in all these departments of human 
study, provides directly for the highest interests of all the members of 
the community: and, it is by the institution of Universities, that the 
State secures the maintenance, furtherance, and dissemination of 
the higher branches of knowledge; as it is through its Common Schools 
that it furnishes the needful elementary instruction to all. Let it not 
be thought then, that the advantages derived from the Universities 
are enjoyed solely by those who frequent their halls. They are in- 
deed the first recipients of their benefit— their intellects are trained,, 
developed and expanded — their minds are informed with various and 
valuable knowledge— their views open with the enlargement of the 
temple of their mind, they are adorned with the elegances of litera- 
ture and become ornaments to society— and they are enriched with 
the capacity of rendering inestimable services to their country and 
then- age. But, though first to reap the grain, they are not the ex- 
clusive gatherers of the harvest. For the good derived immediately 
by them is communicated through a thousand channels to all ranks 
and classes in the community, and is felt in every pulsation of the 



15 

great heart of the State. It operates powerfully (as we have a,- 
ready had occasion to remark), upon the Common Schools themselves, 
and tends to augment and elevate the curriculum of studies pursued 
there, while it kindles the aspirations of those who frequent those 
schools by offering to them at once, the image and the means of a 
higher education. On the other hand, the general instruction of the 
mass gives life, and vigor, and efficiency to collegiate education, by 
exciting and spreading the general desire for knowledge — by creat- 
ing a want for higher- instruction than they themselves supply — and 
by forming a class of young men prepared to receive that additional 
education which may fit them for admission to the highest schools of 
learning. Thus, the system of Common Schools, unless accompan- 
ied by the institution of Universities, is lame and defective— it is the 
foundation of a vast edifice on which no superstructure is to be rais- 
ed. And the institution of Universities without that general diffusion 
of education, which results from the establishment of Common 
Schools, is vain and profitless — for it is an attempt to erect a mighty 
superstructure before any sufficient foundation has been laid. The 
two systems, therefore, sustain each other — they are mutually the 
complements of each other — they combine together into a perfect 
system of public education, and the strenuous advocates of the one 
should be always the most zealous supporters of the other. 

This intimate connection between the higher and the lower grades 
of education has been too frequently overlooked — and in consequence, 
a pernicious hostility has arisen between $heir respective partisans, 
which has retarded or defeated the success of one or both. To pre- 
vent, as far as may be in the power of one man, the growth of any 
such dissention in this state — and, by preventing this pernicious antagonism, 
to expedite and ensure the fullest success for the public education of Missis- 
sippi — and, also, to supply, in some measure, the void which has too often 
been left in the discussion of the importance of State appropriations for pub- 
lic instruction; I shall- beg to detain you with a fuller exposition of the in- 
functions of collegiate education, in ministering to the practical requirements 
of the present age. 

The belief that there is a distinction, or even an opposition between the 
highest intellectual desires and the practical wants of men, is a popular 
fallacy very current in the present clay. No delusion can be more danger- 
ous or more false. It is one, however, which has not the doubtful merit of 
novelty, which has been boastfully claimed for it by its advocates. It has- 
been frequently preached, practised, tested, and exploded before. Once 
crushed, it has often re-appeared in various periods of the world's history, 
and is likely to re-appear frequently again. In the days of Reuchlm, clas- 
sical erudition was persecuted as impiety: and the pursuit of Latin and 
Greek was descried, not merely as "a vain and unprofitable study; but as 
closely connected with magic and other black arts. Yet, these were the 
very studies that paved the way for Kepler, Galileo and Bacon — and led 
directly to the discovery 'of the New World- The prosecution of science,, 
partly owing to the indiscret pretensions of its votaries, was punished with 
the faggot and the stake, and regarded as necromancy — yet, it was the com- 
mencement of the sciences of Medicine, Chemistry and Astronomy — and. 
to the Alchemists and Astrologers of the Dark Ages, we arc remotely in- 
debted for all our modern arts and manufactures. Yet the error, which ex- 



10 

penence has so completely exposed, still infests the minds of many and re- 
fuses to be eradicated. 

Paradoxical as it may appear, there is infinitely more truth contained in 
the converse of this erroneous proposition. The highest intellectual diffi- 
culties of the day, and the most recondite speculations of which the age is 
capable, are in reality those from whose solution the present practical bene- 
fits may be anticipated. Experiments in electricity were long regarded as 
curious and amusing, rather than useful; yet, from them, we have derived 
galvanic plating,. the electro .type, and the Magnetic Telegraph. Investi- 
gations into the elasticity of vapour, were, to all appearance, sufficiently re- 
mote from any practical application— they have given us the various .forms, 
and the unlimited powers of the steam engine. An inquiry into the oxyda- 
tion of metals, is sufficiently difficult and recondite; thence, however, we 
have derived the Daguerreotype. Wherever we turn, we shall find fresh 
confirmation of Bacon's remark, that • i 'experimerj,tk lucifera,' n are to be 
preferred to " experimenta fructifera ,, —for they will be ultimately produc- 
tive of the largest amount of valuable and practical results. 

If we are anxious to confirm confirmation, and to make conviction doubly 
sure, we need only cast a hasty glance over the studies pursued in a Colle- 
giate education, and tra^e their direct practical influence. If we begin with 
the classic languages and even omit all mention of their efficacy in training, 
forming, educating, and ennobling the mind and heart — they furnish us 
with the laws of universal grammar, and with the highest exemplars of grace, 
beauty, strength, and order in composition — they supply the keys to unlock 
the literatures, the languages, and the laws of all modern nations, — and they 
contain 1 buried in their vast bosoms, exhaustless treasures, which can be 
drawn from no other source."' They are the lasting monuments which prove 
most cogently the ennobling influences of free institutions on the mind and 
the genius of man. In them, too, is locked up the history of the world from 
Solon to Cromwell. And, above all, they contain the record of the convent, 
and the archieves of our faith. It will not suffice to reply to this, that Latin 
and Greek books may be read in translations. Not a thousandth part . of 
the riches imbedded in those languages have ever yet been translated — no 
translation from an ancient author can be anything more than a caricature 
of the original — and moreover, those who neglect to acquire the classic 
languages themselves will rarely have recourse to translations. In addition 
to this, all the important incidental advantages to be derived from the study 
of these languages are wholly lost by the substitution of translations. 

If, then, on these numerous accounts the Latin and Greek are worthy of 
our attention they merit for the same reasons diligent and persevering study. 
They are the true pierian spring, from which, if we would drink, we must 
drink deeply and largely. The benefits we have pointed out are the rewards 
of long and intimate familiarity, and are not to be gained by a hasty and 
superficial acquaintance. We must learn to think in their own language as 
the Greeks thought, before we can truly inhale the glorious and inspiriting 
atmosphere of Athenian wisdom — and' we must learn to feel as the Romans 
felt before we can become participants in the profound and practical sagaci- 
ty of ancient Rome. When this familiarity has been acquired, we will dis- 
cover in the tongues of Greece and Rome, the avenues to an immense con- 
tinent of knowledge which Greece and Rome had never explored. 

To pass on to the physical sciences. The immediate practical benefits 
derived from the application of natural science to arts, manufactures, and 
agriculture are the cause of most of our modern prosperity, and are so con- 
tinually submitted to our daily observation as to be perfectly familiar to all 



17 

of us. We owe to the founder of our modern philosophy the maxim that 
' the limits of our knowledge of nature constitute also, the limits of our pow- 
er to render her operations subservient to human wants; and that the further 
we can push back the former, so much the further do we extend the latter. 
It is needless to exemplify the manner in which the physical sciences have 
been ministered to the satisfaction of human requirements — the steamboats 
that cover our waters — the factories that are spread over the land — the rail- 
roads that link together the ends of the country with their fetters of iron — 
the telegraph that outstrips the sun, and bears our tidings on the wings of 
lightning; these, and a thousand other modern miracles bear hourly testimo- 
ny to the fact and the mode of its accomplishment. But steamboats are 
built, and railroads are laid down by those who are wholly unacquainted 
with the profund mysteries of sciences; and many wonderful inventions have 
been due to the genius and perseverance of men whose knowledge scarcely 
extended beyond the rudiments. From these admitted facts, it may be er- 
roneously supposed, that profound scientific acquirements are unnecessary 
for the practical requirements of the times. Not so: each great practical 
invention by whomsoever it might ultimately be made, has yet been due to 
anterior investigations carried on from the pure love of speculative truth in 
the most abstruse and recondite regions of human knowledge. Millions, 
both before and since the Marquis of Worcester had seen the lid tremble on 
the boiling kettle, but the steam-engine was due to researches into the expan- 
sibility of gaseous bodies. The electric fluid had been coming round the 
world since the stars first sang together, to one American we owed the re- 
cognition of its existence and properties; and to another, we owe the inven- 
tion of the magnetic telegraph; though, a few years since, electiicity was 
considered so far removed from the possibility of practical application, as to 
be regarded merely as a field for curious and amusing experiments! The 
security of our lives and properties at sea is in like manner dependent upon 
tregonometrical calculations, and upon the highest and most difficult spec- 
ulations of astronomy. Thus the stars which gem the blue depths of heaven 
lend themselves to the common wants of men; and the ends of knowledge 
are brought together to render us habitual service. 

If from these illustrations I lurn to that new branch of Physical Science 
whose growth-is but of yesterday, and look rather at its promise for the fu- 
ture than at its performance hitherto, the importance of profound scientific 
acquirements in order to attain practical ends will be infinitely multiplied in 
your estimation. It is only since the publication of the researches of Lie- 
big that Agriculture has begun to assume a scientific form by the extension 
and application of both organic and inorganic Chemistry. The earlier spec- 
ulations of Sir Humphrey Davy, who was the first to enter upon this untrod- 
den path o( inquiry had exercised but little influence over the cultivation of 
the soil, though they had been sufficient to awaken the curiosity and stimu- 
late the investigations of Chemical philosophers. At this day, however, 
Agriculture is rapidly assuming a strictly scientific form; and by this change 
of character, is ministering daily, more and more to the wants, nay, to the 
vital necessities of the human race. It was truly and nobly remarked by 
Swift, that the man who made two blades of grass grow where only one had 
grown before, deserved better of his species than all the conquerors and all 
the statesmen who had acquired glory amongst men. This victory over 
nature has already been, in a great measure, accomplished by agricultural 
Chemistry; as yet, it has been introduced into practice to only a very limited 
extent; yet, already, of those who have applied it to the cultivation of their 
lands, some have increased their returns twenty fold; some, thirty fold: some, 

3 



18 

forty fold; and, some, even an hundred fold. If such be the fraita of this; 
science in its infancy, what may we not; anticipate from its maturity? The 
population of the earth may be doubled with an increase of the comforts of 
man instead of being attended with that progression of daily deepening 
want and degradation which otherwise is threatened by the aspect of the 
modern world. At a time, like the present, when destitution and misery are 
convulsing the kingdoms of the old world, and ushering in Revolutions with, 
the delusive hope of removing social ills which cannot be reached by politi- 
cal innovations; at) a time when famine stalks abroad like a giant and deso- 
lates Europe and Asia, leading in its train its inevitable attendants, the 
plague and the pestilence; at such a time, it is impossible for us to overate r 
or for any to underrate the vital importance of that science whose creative 
energy can double the fertility of the soil, can create infinitely the necessa- 
ries of life, and make the desert blossom like the rose. In this case, the 
practical benefits of science are obvious and immediate; in other instances 
they are equally grate, but they are more remote and less apparent In. all, 
however, these blessings are drawn from no shallow waters, but from the 
depths of the deepest streams of knowledge, from no hasty or superficial ac- 
quaintance with science, but from the most difficult and recondite branches 
of human philosophy. 

Having rendered so apparent the mode in which these sciences 
lend themselves to the practical requirements of the day, and showni 
the limitless range of their actual or possible services, but few words- 
will be demanded to prove the importance of that lofty branch of hu- 
man learning, which forms the necessary vestibule of all strictly sci- 
entific knowledge. The functions of mathematics in the prosecution 
of all physical investigation render it an indispensable preliminary to 
all accurate study of nature, and constitute it one of the most impor- 
tant departments of the higher education. Completely isolated as it 
appears to be frrnn our ordinary wants, yet as the obedient minister of 
physical science, as its constant and inseparable attendant, it partakes 
of the direct and immediate practical importance of those studies, 
whose operations- it so essentially subserves. But, in addition to this, 
the habits of mind which are formed by that diligent training in math- 
ematical reasoning, which is requisite to master its abstruse mysteries r 
are of themselves sufficiently valuable to ensure the recognition of 
its high practical utility. During the four centuries which have wit- 
nessed the progressive deterioration of logical science, the social, po- 
litical, and scientific evils which must inevitably result from the disre- 
gard of the principles and conditions of accurate reasoning, have been 
in a great measure averted and wholly concealed by the increased ap- 
plication to mathematical studies during that period. 

But these evils, though delayed, are- certain to befall us: — and in the 
present age we are beginning to feel the fatal consequences of the 
world's distaste for Logical science, and the dependent branches of 
Ethical Philosophy. For there can be no sophistry or error in our prin- 
ciples of reasoning, which will not work itself out into pernicious ac- 
tion in practical life; and there can be no vice in our private or social 
existence which will not re-act upon our philosophy, and contaminate 
its principles. ' Of this we have abundant testimony around us in the 
present age, if we can only so far purify our intellectual vision as to 



19 

pscognise the real condition of the times. For, notwithstanding the 
rapid and immense increase of all the apparent elements of the ma- 
terial prosperity of nations — the augmentation of national and indi- 
vidual wealth; and the multiplication of the comforts and convenien- 
ces of life; the times are sorely diseased, as is amply evinced by the 
revolutionary spirit of the day. This revolutionary character is not 
confined to the sphere of politics, nor is it limited to the continent of 
Europe. It exists in greater or less intensity in every region of the 
civilized globe, and infects society, religion, literature and science, no 
less than the crazy and decaying institutions of the old world. In the 
Northern States of this Confederacy we have among ourselves Social- 
ism, Mormonism, Fanny Wrightisra, and we are rapidly naturalising 
St. Simonism, Fourierism, and the other diversified forms of Agrari- 
anism. The prevalence of these weak and oft refuted delusions 
should assure us thatf even our own free and enlightened Republic has 
not escaped the contagion of the revolutionary fever. These are in- 
novations which are not limited in their action to political institutions, 
but convulse the whole fabric of the social system, and like the mad 
spirit of Abolitionism, so rife in the present day, travesty or deride the 
language of scripture, and make a mockery of the express command- 
ments and the recognised ordinances of God. But when our general- 
ly received systems of moral philosophy draw their inspiration from 
that beggarly Benthamism, which is the meanest form of Utilitarian- 
ism — itself always mean — how can we hope for any better result? — 
We have suffered ourselves to be carried away by the plausible name 
■of utility, until we fail to perceive that Utilitarianism inevitably de- 
feats the accomplishment of its own most especial object. A most 
one-sided view, and a still more defective application of the princi- 
ples of the Baconian philosophy, have inveigled the -world into the 
error of making only a partial and imperfect estimate of the results 
of that philosophy, until we regard Utilitarianism as the legitimate de- 
duction from the maxims of Bacon, and lend the sanction of his name 
to a system which he scorned and detested, and against which he fre- 
quently and deliberately forewarned us in his writings. This Utilita- 
rianism has forced its way into our stafcemaiiship and politics, but it 
leaves the most abstruse problems of government without anything 
better than a temporary and provisional solution, because it leaves 
wholly beyond its range those higher principles of practical policy, 
from which alone a satisfactory solution could be deduced. The 
shallowness and insufficiency of our moral philosophy are the conse- 
quence of the imperfection of that metaphysical science, of which 
morals are abranch, and to which as the spring-head, political econo- 
my must also be referred. The stagnant condition of political econo- 
my—the habitual denial of some of its fundamental axioms by one 
party — the partial acceptation of its truths by the other — the negation 
of the possible existence of such a science — the discussions which still 
take place in regard to many of its leading topics — the dissatisfaction 
which is prevalent in regard to several of its most general conclu- 
sions — and the obvious incompleteness and want of method in the sys- 
tem — all these things show on how vague and unsettled a basis the 



20 

whole scheme is reared. At the same time the increase of wealth 
and the concomitant increase of misery among the masses—social dis- 
tress contemporary with commercial prosperity; the multiplication of 
commodities and the reduction of their price attended by a diminished 
capacity among the million for obtaining them; the twenty thousand 
shirts in the factories which by no magic can be brought into contact 
with the twenty thousand naked backs in the streets— national penu- 
ry co-existent with public plenty— and famine in the midst of full gra- 
naries—these irreconcileable anomalies in our practical life remain a 
standing mockery of the pretensions of political economy. If we 
would discover a remedy for these evils, and a correction for these 
anomalies, we must detect the intellectual aberration from which 
they have sprung— and that aberration must be found in the domain 
and by the aid of metaphysical science. But what are the metaphys- 
ics of the day? If we regard the received systems of the present age 
we have before us for our choice, the idealism of the transcendental- 
ists, the materialism of the positive school; the eclecticism of Cousin, 
the mysticism of the Germans, and the empiricism of the Scotch. — 
Which of these is right?— or are they all wrong. As yet they have 
been prolific of little but wranglings and disputes— the foundations 
of our knowledge remain as indistinct and obscure as they were in the 
Brahminic age of the Sankhya and Nyaya philosophies. To deter- 
mine how far any of these systems of intellectual philosophy may be 
correct, we must examine anew, or construct anew the whole fabric 
of the science, and to do this effectually we will require the aid of that 
logic which has been so long undervalued and neglected. But in four 
centuries of contempt and despiteful entreaty our logic has dwindled 
into a shallow and puerile synopsis: there is a rapid and descending 
attenuation of the subject from the schoolmen to Ramus, from Ramus 
to Milton, from Milton to Locke, from Locke to Watts, and from 
Watts to Hedge, who stands at the lowest possible round of" the ladder. 
During the whole period nearly all the works which have been pro- 
duced in this department of study have been elaborate efforts to cir- 
culate the least possible modicum of the science under the name of 
logic. Within the last few years, indeed, the successive labors of 
Wheatley, Sir Wm. Hamilton and Mill — and in a higher though more 
obscure degree, of Hegel and other German scholars — have given 
evidence of a disposition to recall a long forgotten but most essential 
branch of human speculation. Before, however, it can be definitely 
or satisfactorily reconstructed, we must investigate the sources, the 
limitations, and the conditions of our knowledge. In other words, the 
creation of a new and sufficient science of logic demands the concur- 
rent production of a new and more definite science of metaphysics. — 
The one requires the aid of the other; they must advance together hand 
imparibus passibus, for, like so many of the higher branches of knowl- 
edge, they are mutually interdependent, and consequently require co- 
incident development. I have thus shown the existence of important 
practical wants and grievous practical evils, and traced the means of 
their satisfaction and redress through the different ethereal sciences to 
the required improvement of these most abstruse and recondite scien- 



M 

ces — logic and metaphysics; By so doing, I have brought them and 
the rest of the ethical sciences within the number of those studies 
which minister to the practical requirements of the age. 

I have not overlooked, though 1 have not mentioned the subject of 
international law. 1 have passed it over because its practical influ- 
ence can scarcely be mistaken; and because its condition is necessa- 
rily dependent upon the state of the kindred sciences of politics, po- 
litical economy, and moral philosoph}'. It must seek its improvement 
and development from the same sources from which they are replen- 
ished — and much it requires improvement, for it has gained little in 
substance, and has lost much in form, since the days of the founder — 
Grotius. 

But while I have traced social and political evils to defects in our 
logic and metaphysics, I could with the same ease have pointed out 
the necessity of an enlargement and rectification of these sciences for 
the further development of the physical sciences themselves, and for 
the correction of their errors and deficiences. I have already said 
that a mistaken view of the Baconian philosophy has distorted its ap- 
plication, and infected -it with the base alloy of an exclusively utilita- 
rian bias: and the consequence is that in the present day we are al- 
most wholly engaged with the comparatively petty duty of applying 
our knowledge of nature to purposes of immediate pecuniary gain, 
instead of examining, purifying, correcting, and expanding the scien- 
ces of nature themselves. We are occupying ourselves with the con- 
sideration of mere details — the infallible symptom ofva weak intellec- 
tual age — instead of investigating the ultimate speculative principles 
of natural science, from which alone any solid or permanent good can 
be anticipated. We have closed our ears to the lofty and ennobling 
maxims of Lord Bacon, and in consequence have strayed from the 
well delineated path of progress which he pointed out. Thus all our 
natural science has become diseased — chemistry is multiplying ele- 
ments, when a more severe scrutiny might possibly reduce their num- 
ber — it is concealing from itself and the world its own obscurity and 
ignorance by hypostatizing agencies, of which we can detect only a 
few and scattered phenomena; it is endeavoring to stereotype a vague 
distinction without a definitely assigned difference between combina- 
tions in an organic and in an inorganic body. Natural philosophy 
in all its branches is impaired and rendered unsatisfactory and delu- 
sive from the absence of accurate views of the metaphysical princi- 
ples which are involved in this, as in all other branches of human 
speculation. The law of gravitation is definitely established; but we 
have not advanced much beyond the unphilosophical reveries of Sir 
Isaac Newton, with respect to the causes, the nature, and the modus 
operandi of gravitation. These sciences are constantly occupied 
with tracing effects to their causes, and causes to their effects; yet they 
are fettered by the unsolved metaphysical difficulties which embarrass 
the relation between cause and effect. In optics the connecting theo- 
ries of Newton and Fresnel still divide the scientific world, without 
our being any nearer the discovery of a test of their truth, or aware 
of the necessity of its detection. Our cosmic speculations are splen- 



>)v> 



didly grand and unlimited, but they are uncertain and indefinite for 
\yant of a rigid determination of the nature and credibility of our tes- 
timony, and a precise demarcation of the impassable boundaries of 
human knowledge. In all these difficulties we are repelled by doubts 
which natural sciences cannot solve, and driven to seek an answer to 
the enigmas from those sciences of logic and metaphysics, which ought 
to be able, and alone can promise, to give a satisfactory solution. 
Thus again by a different chain the improvement of these sciences is 
connected with the immediate and essential practical requirements of 
the present day. • 

Of religion I have said nothing, though much might be said, think- 
ing any examination into its condition unsuited to this place, and in- 
expedient on this occasion. Within the walls of this University we 
have no more to do with religion than to indoctrinate the students in 
christian morals, and to inculcate Christianity as the law of the land, 
and the rule of life lor the citizen, the scholar and the gentleman. 

I have also avoided entering upon many higher and more abstruse 
speculations in confirmation of my remarks relative to the practical 
importance of the studies enumerated, from a reluctance to weary 
your patience by too tedious an address, and from the conviction that 
they could be better urged on a more suitable occasion. I need only 
add more, that the immediate practical importance of many of these 
studies has already been shown to be sufficiently great, notwithstand- 
ing their need of improvement — and that those which have been spe- 
cified as promising the necessary corrective of existent social and po- 
litical evils are thereby of no less practical benefit. Their condition 
is far from satisfactory, but their diligent study must precede their 
amendment, and the full accomplishment of our hopes. Still such as 
they are, they may be employed most profitably, while awaiting a fur- 
ther development. At the same time, their agency in informing and 
training the minds of young men for the duties and exercises of ma- 
ture life, of which we have said nothing give them a practical value, 
wholly independent of the other purposes to which they ma}'' be applied. 

We look then to the study of the ancient languages, of Mathemat- 
ics, Astronomy, Natural Philosophy and Chemistry; and of the differ- 
ent branches of Ethical science as the means of increasing the bles- 
sings and rectifying many of the evils of the day. These are, as- 
suredly, most important practical benefits. We regard them also as 
furnishing the most complete and effective system of education, and 
this is testified by the full experience of a long series of ages. We 
regard them not merely as the best, but as the necessary cradle of 
the highest intellectual accomplishments — and, for these reasons, 
again we claim for them immediate practical utility in ministering 
to the requirements of the times. For we deem the most valuable 
and the noblest wealth of a State to consist in the virtue, the learn- 
ing, and the intelligence of her citizens. 

But all these studies form part of the curriculum of the Collegiate 
career. The young men who may frequent the sacred Courts of lit- 
erature and science which the State has here established, will be 
familiarised with these branches of learning at such periods of their 



'23 

course and in such order as may best ensure to them the greatest 
amount of thorough Tlnd useful knowledge. The student will thus 
be prepared, when he may have finished the due term of his College 
exercises, and obtained the honorable testimonial of his proficiency, 
to enter upon the duties of active life in any profession or occupa- 
tion in such a manner as to do credit to himself and his State, and 
to render essential sevice to his country and his kind. We cannot 
hope that all will reap this rich harvest— for there are good soils and 
bad soils — and the seed that will produce an hundred fold on good 
soil, will be wasted upon bad — but to all will be afforded the oppor- 
tunity, the stimulus and the encouragement to become upright, pol- 
ished gentlemen and thorough scholars, furnished with all that can 
render them valuable members of society, and the instruments of 
new benefits to their fellow-citizens. Before, however, this great re- 
sult can be fully attained, much will be expected from the students 
themselves — and asths will be expected from them, I will now take 
the liberty of addressing myself more particularly to them, hoping 
that they will ever bear my remarks in mind for their own guidance 
and improvement, and communicate them to such as may come after 
them for their information and direction. There remains but few 
words for me to say, and they will have relation principally to the 
duties and discipline of the students. 

Young Gentlemen : It is for yon r and those who like you have devoted their youth to 
the noble pursuit of instruction that this graceful Temple, these commodious Houses have 
b«en erected — it is for you that the generous expenditure around yoirhas been made. It 
is for you that the Trustees have brought lis, the members of the Faculty together, from 
far distant regions — it is for you and your benefit that we have come, for beyond our pri- 
vate advantages, we are fully conscious of the further responsibilities of the high and holy 
vocatiou which we profess. Tt is for you that the State and the Citizens of the State have 
poured out their treasures. The object of all which has been done r and all which may yet 
be done is correlative with your own object in coming here. You stand knocking at the 
Porticoesand Vestibules of the Temple of knowledge — we are here to introduce you into 
its sacred recesses, and initiate you into its recondite mysteries — and all this expense has 
been incurred by tiie State, that your hopes may not be without fruit, nor your desires with- 
out satisfaction. Without this aid your hopes would be vain — the necessary expenses of a 
Collegiate establishment are so' numerous and so heavy, that no amount of fees that could be 
charged or would be paid, would be adequate to its support. Hence, in all countries and in 
all ages, from the days of the Emperor Constantino to our own, the means of their mainten- 
ance have been furnished by States and cities, Emperors, Kings and Princes — or by the as- 
sociated and accumulated endowments of wealth or of countless individuals. This vast ex- 
pense roust be incurred for your benefit before you can contribute your mites, or receive the 
advantages whicl), result from it. 

Now, by what services have you merrited this munificence of your State? Of yourselves 
you have done nothing. Ought you not then to feel grateful for the proffered favour? — a 
favor which from being open to all is not the less extended to each of you individually. I 
cannot suppose any of you so far destitute of the highest feeling* which adorn humanity as 
not to feel profound gratitude for the blessing offered, and an earnest desire to* make a suit- 
able return for it. But there is only one return in your power to make — there is only one 
expected from yon. The State, convinced that to her, as to the Roman Matron, her sons 
are her brightest jewels; has, with lofty views and for noble purposes, erected and endowed 
this Institution for the young men of Mississippi — the only return which she expects or can' 
receive is that you do your duty as she has done hers — that you will avail yourselves to the 
utmost of the opportunities- accorded to you — and render to her in your own walks of life 
the tribute of a high and honorable character; of willing and upright hearts; and of instruc- 
ted and intelligent minds. Thus will she be amply rewarded for her care and liberality; and 
we will receive the best meed of our labors. The demands of the State correspond with your 
own highest temporal interests; you will be the first and the last to reap the rewards of your 
industry and good conduct here; and there will be no period of your lives when you will 
not feel the magic inflnenco of a creditable career in this University. Thus ronr duty to 



24 



Yourselves, your duty to your benefactors, your duty to the State, your duty to your par- 
oats, all concur in exacting a profitable use of your time here. 

In order that you may derive the full benefit of the advantages promised to you by this 
University, constant good order and 'gentiemanly propriety of deportment on your part are 
indispensably required. Without these, your scholastic pursuits here will be defrauded of 
their just results, and your career in life distorted at its commencement. For young gentle- 
men, you now put off the boy and put on the man. Your entrance into College is your 
reception of the Toga Virilis — and the character which you make for yourselves here, will 
attend you through life; and, in a great measure, determine the complexion of your lives. 
Here then, for your present benefit and for your future reputation, you must establish for 
yourselves a character for honorable sentiment, high sense of duty, industry, good order and 
gentlemanly conduct. And for the 'exercise of these virtues there will be constant occa- 
sion; for here is the gymnasium for the development of moral and intellectual excellence; 
and you will find the whole discipline of the Institution is a constant appeal to your better 
feelings, and always presupposes their existence. 

Some discipline is requisite whenever men are associated together for a common object — 
aiid it is especially necessary in the case of young men who have just begun to learn the 
difficult art of governing themselves. We have labored to remove as far as practicable all 
irksome restraints in the government of the College — but in- proportion to our moderation 
must be your own self-control. The faculty are here with the same common purpose with 
yourselves. Our common efforts are to be directed to your cultivation and improvement. 
We expect you accordingly to co-operate in working out your own good. All that we ask 
of you is that you will conduct yourselves as gentlemen. You will meet with the treatment 
of gentlemen, and it is hoped that you will behave as gentlemen. Instead of adopting the 
inquisitorial system of discipline adopted in most other Colleges, we appeal to your honor as 
Mississippians. The laws will be made known to you before your admission, you will as- 
sent to them or not as you please. If you are unwilling to incur the obligations which they 
impose, you do not enter the University, but seek some other institution which may be more 
consonent with your feelings. If you approve of the laws on the contrary, you pledge your 
honor as gent emen that you will not wilfully violate them. We then hold yon by your own 
prom.se, and keep you on your word of honor during your connection with the University. 
It there should be reason to suspect any of you of any breach of discipline; of any violation 
ot the laws, we do not hunt up evidence against you, and weigh testimonies in the balance 
against you but ask you privately on your honor as gentlemen, whether you are guilty or 
not of the offence. It has been suggested that we hold you by a weak tenure- we think 
not We have remitted all of discipline that is harsher oppressive-we make you feel as 
gentlemen and hat you are under the responsibilities of gentlemen-and we will not harbor 

wSSSelvS^ sus r i0, T V hat 1 an , yMis r sip P ian - thatan y young ma* of the South 
m ecS o £ Tl ■?' K H SUCh Sl T ld be f0Uud ' he is ^worthy to remain within the 

mav hale fnlSfi ^u I' ^ W f>P e to build U P a societ y of gentlemen-he who 

ruItXrfrom d thelr W mid d st nd T? ^ h ° n ° r ' V ^ 110 * l ™ «?»* ^tlemen, and 

riSSSiStS "if that ° n y ° U aS thG first 8tudents of the University, its fate will in a 
Ed a SJn » n rf P ?h . ^ , C0 '°P. erate freeI ^ and cordiall y with Y™* Professors in build. 

So ■ tt™w thorough system of education; and in laying firm and broad the founda- 

result We nromi " e fn melU ™ P f S the S , tudents ' certain and enduring success will be the 
hUh "fir* SK TJ, in ,W C ,° mp letG a ? d eleVated a Collegiate course of study as is pursued 
eh uld be ,tiiu fated to th fn\? ' f"^ M */ W8t rema '" S t0 be done ^ > 0U - And y«« 
ations brtKSron^thi/t^ ?T* ° f y ° Ur dut y' in addition t0 i 1 other consider- 
turned upon von voir Vlin, eyeS ° f J " ° WU State and of the adjoining States are 
thusiasZy fee3nf ZS fhT' 7°^ ^ te .P ride should be kindled into an ardent en- 
and that thlt L entrusted tr J" aCter f of M.ss.ss.ppi is largely involved in this experiment, 
deposite brigh t and ^untarnished after h° 7 ™ ^^^S- See that you return the sacred 

I will now dismisi Z IrU ' , h a v >ng preserved it with filial reverence and care, 
yourse ves Tf 3 "Z \m feS 7 ! **"* J ° U ^ find >' our P"fe«oni, if you will avail 

fices, and ilW^TuSWo^^S.-otSS' ^^ ^ ^ l ° aff0rd y ° U theil ^°° d ° f - 
areno real lines of 5 arln (Jn! 7 It ™ retUrn - There are no artificial, as there 
With to-morrow, v P r co Znc P eou7res he amicable . Change of kindness and civility, 
look back with pride to Rw res P ec tive duties; may the State of Mississippi ever 
back with fonde'rpSe to the ££ , * ^H mid - ma y J' 011 S ive her "use to look 

#J has e^tablishS'fSrlhfd- SSrorSr! u,% firSt t0 ^ ^ ™ «"* h " ^ 



i 




ESS 



DELIVERED ON OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF THE 

UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI 

IN BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, 

NOVEMBER, 6 1848. 

BY EON. JACOB THOMPSON. M. C. 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS, 

DELIVERED ON OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF THE 

niVERSITY OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI 

NOVEMBER 6, 1848. 
BY GEORGE FREB'K HOLMES, A. M, 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY. 



Inter ea(qu8B memoria omnis alat, quaeque ipsa intueatur ffiternitas,; nil dignius est, aut 
nobilius, qnam si dotetur orbis terrarura augmentis scientiarum solius et fructuosis. 

Bacon, de Aug. Sci. L.b. n. Ep, Dcd. Ad Regan Siuch. 



MEMPHIS: • 

FRANKLIN DOOK AND JOR OFFICE. 

1849. 



LBFe'iO 



